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As predicted in our March 13 alert, the New Jersey legislature has now instituted a taxpayer-funded lawsuit to overturn the Christie Administration’s new regulation (adopted last month) allowing those facing serious threats to qualify for a handgun carry permit.

“Although 43 states recognize the right to defend yourself with a firearm outside the home, New Jersey remains one of a handful of backward states that apparently prefer their citizens to become victims – except for legislators, who themselves hypocritically enjoy the armed protection of State House security,” said ANJRPC Executive Director Scott Bach. “Only in the Garden State do lawmakers actively block those facing serious threats from defending themselves. New Jersey’s days denying right to carry to its citizens are numbered.”

The legislature’s lawsuit makes some stunning and absurd statements about right to carry, reflective of an entrenched anti-gun mindset that is incapable of acknowledging reality:

“There is simply…no commonsense interpretation that could lead to the conclusion that threats that are serious but non-specific could warrant a handgun carry permit. . . . This broader reading is against the public interest.”

“. . . [I]t is likely that individuals not previously authorized to obtain a permit to carry a handgun will obtain one pursuant to the . . . [new] rule. The safety and welfare of the citizens of this State will be at risk . . . .”

Apparently the legislature never got the memo - police owe no duty to protect individual citizens – a troubling doctrine repeatedly affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. That means citizens are on their own in an emergency, yet those wishing to take responsibility for their own safety are blocked from doing so by New Jersey’s absurdly and unconstitutionally restrictive carry law. In the era of increasing terror attacks, it is all the more important that citizens be empowered to defend themselves in an emergency. Governor Christie’s newly adopted regulations represent an incremental improvement, allowing those facing “serious threats” to qualify.